Enslaved
by AlexSnape-36
Summary: Severus, taking the position of minister of magic, thinks it amusing when he doesn't revoke the previous minister's decrees that enslaved women...until he takes an interest in someone else's female property. Can he save her before his mistake kills her?


Disclaimer- The dream is mine, the plot is twisted, and the woman who really owns the Harry Potter elements in this story is not me.

**Chapter 1 The New Minister of Magic**

The war had ended with fewer losses than had been expected, and the restoration had been quick and mostly uneventful. Afterwards, however, while everyone was busy putting their own lives back together, the wizarding world had found itself leaderless and severely lacking candidates for a new minister of magic. Though the Dark Lord was dead, for good this time, and his followers were locked away, no one wanted to step up and take responsibility for the position. In this vulnerable time of need, the Ministry was introduced to Alrick Alverson. Alverson owned a chain of clothing shops that dealt solely with leather. His interactions with the public improved his 'people skills', which, along with his charisma, increased his fan club. His slim, athletic figure, long curly blond hair, and big, brown puppy dog eyes made him popular with the women. When he heard the position of Minster of Magic was open, he immediately stepped up. At the time, he seemed to be the ideal choice. It was a choice that the Ministry would regret making. They would soon find out that Alverson didn't respect women quite as much as they respected him.

For the first few years, Alverson was a great Minister of Magic. He passed laws that helped protect the wizarding world, improved their ability to afford St. Mungo's, and ensured that all schools were prepared for the incoming students.

Directly after he caught his fiancé cheating on him with his brother, something changed in him. His advisors began to notice a new viciousness about him…and then came the decrees.

The first decree had seemed harmless, particularly since it came just after a witch, Joann Marshall, was violently attacked and killed while walking the streets after dark. Her fate played right into Alverson's hands, making the decrees seem logical. Especially the first, which declared that no witch of any age was permitted in public without a male chaperone. Though a few, more intelligent, witches had been outraged; the majority shrugged it off as being 'for their own good.'

The second degree seemed equally as harmless. Every witch was required to register at the Ministry of Magic to take classes on spells that would help with housework. The minister had taken the register, which listed the name, age, and residence of every witch in Britain, and hid it in his office. Only he knew its location. He claimed he had done it to protect their identities.

After that, the decrees stopped for a while. It didn't take the public long to settle down. However, the next year at the same time, it started up again. This time it was worse. The third decree stated that every female in the wizarding world was to have a male owner. Any witch caught without a male owner would be considered the property of the Ministry of Magic and would be auctioned off. The proceeds would go towards the ministry's expenses. Most men thought the decree was a brilliant idea. The women felt insulted and degraded. One witch, Kathleen Hembridge, stormed the Ministry five months after trying and failing to find a way around the decree. The Minister had a meeting with her, calming her down and came to a compromise with her. He would create a way for witches to prove that they could take care of themselves.

Alverson and two other men, who chose to remain anonymous, created the only way around the decree in the form of an amulet. The amulet was enchanted to be the judge of whether or not Alverson should grant freedom to the witch who touched held it. Alverson then created the fourth decree, stating that anyone who passed the test of the amulet would instantly be granted freedom and would be exempt from decrees 3 and 5. Then he proceeded to create decree number five, which came to be known as the marriage decree. Any adult wizard could legally wed up to three of his women, regardless of whether or not the females were willing. Any married witch caught in the act of being unfaithful would instantly be sentenced to death.

Hembridge made the mistake of taking him up on his offer. All she had to do, after all, was touch the amulet and wait for it to turn green. She was fully confident in her ability to look after herself. In her eyes, there was no chance that she would fail. However, she wasn't prepared for the rather violent way the test turned out. The amulet turned red, signaling that she was incapable, and the proceeded to cut her in half. Four months after that, another witch, desperate for her freedom, took the test. She lost her head.

The Wizengamot was furious. Alverson had crossed the line. Most of them, however, were terrified of him so rather than simply taking the position from him, they gave him an ultimatum. He could touch the amulet himself to prove that it worked, or be sent to Azkaban for two counts of murder. He had two weeks to decide.

Two weeks later, Alverson disappeared. His Gringotts account had been emptied and his shops had been closed down. The only thing he left behind was a mess even bigger than you-know-who had created and a large group of women unable to overcome this nightmare and earn their freedom.

Leaderless once more, the board of advisors all unanimously agreed upon the best man to take over and clean up the mess Alverson had left behind. They needed a wizard willing to do the right thing and make the right decisions regardless of how many people it upset. Though the witches would be delighted to have their freedom back, there were some wizards who thought Alverson's decrees had been the best thing that had ever happened to the wizarding world. So the Ministry needed someone brave enough to face them. Someone daring and intelligent who wouldn't be afraid to take charge. Someone who had already proven himself, rather than someone as inexperienced as Alverson had been. In the end, their options were obvious. Harry Potter was too young and didn't want the responsibility. He had done his part with defeating the Dark Lord and now just wanted to live out a happy, normal life. Mrs. Hermione Malfoy was too limited by the decrees and had left the country with her husband, Draco Malfoy, and their two children. Hermione wasn't one to just sit back and allow herself to be enslaved. The only alternative was to leave, so she had. Ronald Weasley was a quidditch player, enough said. The only option left was the ex-deatheater, Severus Snape. After several months of attempting to convince him to help them, he finally agreed, leaving the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts to his deputy and 'property', Minerva McGonagall. After taking his oath, rather than revoking the decrees, as they had expected him to, he left them as they were, using them as a sort of revenge against the Ministry and the rest of society. The Ministry had given him hell after he had killed Albus Dumbledore. Society still sent him howlers for it. Now, however, he was in control. He had the power, and though he wasn't about to misuse it a badly as the previous Minister had, he wasn't about to start handing out favors where he didn't owe them either. For Minerva's sake, he did away with decrees 1, 2 and 4, but refused to budge on the others. He saw no reason to meddle in what didn't apply to him to begin with, and enjoyed the horrified expressions on the faces of the Wizengamot when he had announced his decision. They had hounded him into accepting the position. Now he was going to take it for all it was worth.


End file.
